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When using Pinterest (and Flickr and YouTube and Facebook
and on and on), what copyright, fair use, trademark and other issues
weigh on building communities and corporate use of fan pages and social media generally?
A hypothetical “Company” has plans for its Pinterest “community”, and
in particular, wonders about these situations:

Using Images of Identifiable People

Fair Use and Images

Trademarks: When is a “Fair Use” Argument Strongest?

Why Attribution and Linking to Original Sources is Important

3 introductory questions:

Question #1: Someone used to be a paid Company
sponsor or spokesperson. They are no longer. Can the Company continue
to post a photo of the old sponsor to Pinterest? Short Answer:
If the contract with the sponsor expressly permits it, yes.
Ordinarily, the contract would specify engagement for limited time, and
that would prohibit rights to use images beyond the contract period.
But it really depends on what the contract says.

Question #2: Can the Company post a photo of a fan of the Company? Short Answer:
Express consent is required, either through a release or the fan’s
agreement (whenever the photo is submitted) to terms of service.
Exceptions are discussed below.

Question #3: Can the Company post a photo of a Coca-Cola bottle on its Pinterest page? Short Answer: If the use of the image does not suggest (implicitly or explicitly) endorsement or association, then yes.

The trafficking of children for sex in the United States is an appalling and very real problem, which a new Washington state law means to eliminate by targeting websites that offer classified advertising for escort services. But many fear the law poses a serious threat to free speech on the Internet by imposing upon online service providers
the burdensome duty to monitor, vet, and otherwise censor third-party
content.

The regulation of commercial speech on social media sites continues to increase. In late March, a federal court in California held that Facebook postings fit within the definition of "commercial electronic mail message" under the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited
Pornography and Marketing Act ("CAN-SPAM Act;" 15 U.S.C. § 7701, et seq.).

The Federal Trade Commission has announced the first monetary penalty under its "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising": a $250,000 settlement with a company that sells guitar lessons on DVDs.

The Office of Fair Trading, the British equivalent of the United States Federal Trade Commission, has determined that the hiring of bloggers and other social media contributors to promote particular products without adequate disclosure of the relationship may violate U.K. consumer protection laws. Handpicked Media Ltd (Handpicked Media), Case Ref. CRE-E-25932 (OFT Dec. 13, 2010).

The Federal Trade Commission has announced that it has completed its first investigation under the "blog-ola" rules it adopted last year, which require bloggers and other social media posters who receive a free or discounted product
or service to disclose the freebie in their reviews or commentary about
the product or service, or face the possibility of an FTC enforcement
action. See "Guides
Concerning the Use of En

We are looking for contributing authors with expertise in media law, intellectual property, First Amendment, and other related fields to join us as guest bloggers. If you are interested, please contact us for more details.

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